dєaя laякρaω
by Goldenwing is Loki'd
Summary: Dawnpaw is bullied by not one but four apprentices. Let's just say she finds out about her sinister power in a way that will scar her for life. Unfortunately, that might be the only way she might be aware of her power. [Power is not: enhanced senses, fighting, flying, whatever you can think of.]
1. Beginning

**I'm back with a new story! I had this one stuck in my notebooks for a while and I really want to finish this one. Of course, I still wanna finish the others - I actually have a couple interesting endings to most of them (except Silence, haha) - but this one I'm very sure about. Notice the rating, please. I know, "rated T cuz Warriors!" but this one is gonna have some blood. Mild language. I like gore. There's none in this chapter.**

* * *

I wish I had ended this before this all even started. I wish I never had this power. really, it was never a power; it was a curse.

* * *

Cloudfang and I padded back to the WindClan camp with a plump mouse clamped firmly in my jaws, my head held proudly as I dropped my catch into the fresh-kill pile.

"Nicely done today. Not all apprentices catch something on their first day," Cloudfang remarked encouragingly, chuckling heartily. "Go ahead and take a kill; you deserved it. I'll feed the elders for you." I watched as he walked away springily; he was surprisingly fit for a cat his age, and he was nearly an elder himself.

My heart rushed with a warm, liquidy happiness at his praise and settled down at the edge of the camp with a thrush. It was quiet here and was peaceful and relaxing after this evening. I was overall very pleased with today; I was made an apprentice, got assigned to a patient mentor, and caught my first prey (which I nearly missed).

I was sure that my future would be very bright and stable, and suddenly I was worried of where in the apprentices' den sleep tonight. I wouldn't be alone; there were four other apprentices in the den with me. I knew their faces and names, and I disliked two of them.

There was Beetlepaw and Blossompaw, brother and sister who were four moons older than me. I only had two moons with them in the nursery, and I vividly remembered my mother not liking their family. Their mother was arrogant and bossy, the type of queen who wouldn't hear a word against her kits. However, that didn't stop her from criticizing other kits. In turn, her kits turned just like her. Beetlepaw was a dimwitted, unfaithful little scourge. He was never scolded – he was sometimes praised by his mother, Poppyshade for being so clever – for wrapping nests in thorns and "accidently" nicking the younger ones. His sister, Blossompaw, was cold, it seemed that I wasn't apparently worthy of her. Instead, she spent her time at the apprentices' den.

I was more hopeful about Larkpaw and Heatherpaw. They only spent less than one moon in the nursery with me, so I vaguely remembered them. However, they were somewhat popular in the Clan, especially Larkpaw. Although she didn't appear to flaunt it, I heard that she was an excellent warrior and gave help around the Clan. Like Blossompaw, Heatherpaw was quieter, yet she was extremely pretty with her rosy silver tabby fur and stormy eyes. To top my expectations, Stormheart, who was the Clan deputy, was their father. Their mother was very kind and modest – shy, even.

Just when I was about to take my last bite of the thrush, I was stunned to see a black blur of a cat swoop down and literally hork down the remainder of the bird. I looked up, annoyed, only to see that it was Beetlepaw with a stupid grin on his narrow face.

"What in the name of StarClan? You could've gotten one of your own, you know," I said stiffly, my eyes narrowing. I suddenly noticed how big he got. They only had a few more months of being a warrior, and he was already sleek and tall. He wasn't built for combat, but I was just out of the nursery and he was, frankly, intimidating. He turned away and streaked toward the apprentices' den, leaving me confused and disgusted. Someone would think he would have at least learned something about tact. Damn him.

"Really?" I muttered, shaking off the feathers and stomping to the said den. He hadn't changed, at least. There was nothing I could do about him, but maybe I could claim a nest early.

Well, I was wrong about Larkpaw.

But once I stepped into the den, the atmosphere turned around completely. It was full with all four other apprentices in it: Larkpaw, Heatherpaw, and Blossompaw were already in there with Beetlepaw still grinning goofily with them. It was intimidating with such successful and older apprentices right in front of me, and that was when I discovered how irritated I still looked. It was too late to control my expressions, but what was I going to say about it? _"Oh, he took my thrush and I'm angry because of that!" Really?_ I thought again, and keeping my rage contained, I said lamely, "So this is where I'm going to sleep?"

"No. You're going to sleep in the _nursery_ ," Blossompaw replied in amusement, offering a cold smile. My eyes narrowed in distaste. She didn't change much, either. I couldn't even tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "Anyway, Beetlepaw did it again, didn't he? He could never control himself. I'm Blossompaw."

"Larkpaw. Dawn, right?" the rosy gray tabby introduced herself rather unnecessarily. I felt shy again. Again, she was respected as an apprentice in the Clan, but I was suddenly startled about how her smile didn't match up to her amber eyes. It was as if all of the warmth the color usually provided had been sucked up and plastered sloppily over her face. "And here's Heatherpaw. Now you'll be sleeping there," she mewed bossily, pointing to a den right beside the entrance with her muzzle.

I stared, dumbfounded. _They thought that this she-cat was nice?_

"How come you choose where I sleep?" I mewed after a moment, trying to come over my shock.

"It's a matter of hierarchy," she said in equal loftiness, starting to lower her head to sleep. "Goodnight, Dawnkit."

I continued to gape, suddenly outraged. _How dare she?_

Beetlepaw was snickering silently as I settled seethingly into the nest they had already prepared for me. Meanwhile, Blossompaw too was preparing to sleep while Heatherpaw was cleaning her pelt rather more times than we necessary. She didn't say anything during our conversation, but she glance coldly at me. It strangely enhanced her beautiful features.

I noticed how Larkpaw had the nest closest to the back and I was closest to the entrance of the den. The scent of heather was also stronger where Larkpaw's nest was.

I lied down, still fuming as I stared into the dark, my back to the draft that was coming from the entrance. _This nest was so uncomfortable._ The opening was small, but the breeze was strong enough to make me shiver. Suddenly, I felt a sharp pain on my leg and jumped out of my nest, biting in a yelp of pain. I heard a muffled snigger, presumably from Beetlepaw.

As I settled more deeply into the nest, I suddenly felt another sharp sensation, digging in from my belly to my side like tiny little rat claws. It made a scratchy, crunching sound as I shifted and to my dismay was an entire tendril of cruel brambles.

I stepped out of the nest gingerly and ripped out the brambles with unnecessary force. The harshness of the movement probably left thorns still digging into my belly, but I didn't care. I peered into the nest in the darkness and found the nest crudely bundled together with brittle plants from the moor. There were even other severe looking thorn springs imbedded in the nest. A particularly large spider sprung out and practically glided out of the den and I leaped back.

There was no way I could get all of the thorns out. I gave up and curled across from the pitiful excuse of a nest, anger continuing to bubble. It shamed me to be there without a nest and give them the satisfaction.

What was wrong with them? What did I do that made them hate me? Beetlepaw I could understand, but Larkpaw. _Larkpaw._

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 **Her power is revealed in the last chapter, and I'm really excited for it. Are the bullies irritating enough? They'll turn downright cruel later. Please tell me what you think!**


	2. Verity

**Well dang, nine reviews and four favorites in one chapter! That's awesome, thank you all so much to every one of you.**

 **A shoutout to snidely to answering my PM and giving much needed constructive critique. c:**

 **I lied in the last chapter. This is a short fic but I'm actually not sure how long it's going to be.**

 **Cats can't really cry, but this can't be the worst thing the Warriors fandom has done, right? XD This chapter didn't exactly turn out the way I thought, but I still hope you all enjoy it. I wanted to update this for a long time!**

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My morning was interrupted by a rough jostle. A yelp escaped my throat as I was pushed onto my belly; the thorns I didn't pull out from last night prickled something awful.

"Wake up, Dawnkit. Why didn't you sleep on the nest I made yesterday? It must have been so uncomfortable on the ground!" _Larkpaw didn't make the nest, she probably made Beetlepaw do it._ Another bodily shove. Anger started surging throughout me once more and I snarled. She simply sneered and marched out of the den.

I should've been thankful that the others weren't here to witness, but I wasn't. Was was her problem? Was she this mean to others? With a snarl I trekked over and spat into her nest. There was a savage satisfaction of watching the wad roll down between the silky grasses and my lips curled in triumph. This was my first morning as an apprentice, and I was determined not to let Larkpaw ruin it.

"Dawnpaw! Great, you're awake already, I'm impressed." It was Cloudfang, my mentor. "We're going to work with Larkpaw and her mentor today. You don't mind that, do you?"

A smile was forced over my face but dread clawed inside. "No, not at all," I mewed.

He beamed. Then he gave a little sniff. "Hey, is that blood? Why are there so many thorns in your pelt? You better go to Silverwing, she'll help you - "

I inwardly scowled. I could handle this by myself. Cloudfang was great, but I neither wanted nor needed his help.

He forced me to the medicine den anyway. There was the smell of herbs. There was a kind, "Oh, how did this happen?" and a "No, I don't need herbs," and a "No, it might get infected." So I came out of the den with no thorns and stinging, marigold coated wounds.

"There she is!" Cloudfang exclaimed. He was waiting for me outside of the den and we padded together towards the entrance of MoorClan.

"You smell of herbs," Heatherpaw commented nonchalantly as she padded by, not even bothering to look in our direction. My eyes narrowed and my lip twitched. _Fake._

"Are you okay? It was just a little mishap, right?" There came Larkpaw's sympathetic mew. My gaze flashed and I could see the maliciousness in her too green eyes. _Fake, fake, fake!_

Cloudfang chuckled. "It was just a little thing, but little things always seem to be the most important. So, Dawnpaw, this is Cherrywing, Larkpaw's mentor."

The red she-cat, Cherrywing turned to me. "Hello, Dawnpaw! We'll be working with you today on battling."

I nodded, trying not to look to glum. Cherrywing looked friendly, and I hoped she really was. I thought about her apprentice.

"What we're going to do today is do some very basic fighting skills. We've started hunting and exploring the territory yesterday, so I thought it would be good to explore the different subjects at first. Since Larkpaw is an older apprentice she could give you tips. It would be your assignment as well as hers. And just so you know, Larkpaw is quite the warrior," chucked Cloudfang. "She could certainly take a little break from her work."

 _Just_ Larkpaw? What were the odds? I nodded again numbly.

"So, Dawn. Are you excited?" Larkpaw slipped out of the entrance beside me and I gave a silent snarl in her direction (we were walking behind our mentors). She feigned surprise at my aggression and grinned, continuing to go at a lope.

She said "Dawn" affectionately as if she was an older sister; she couldn't even call me by my full name. My _real_ name.

I sped my pace to go beside Cloudfang, trying to walk my anger off. To think that I was going to sped the rest of the afternoon with her was making me even more upset. I tried to appreciate the breeze that was making the short grasses ripple under the sun, the early light of the sun washing the landscape in a pale sheen, and the giant expanse of the powder blue sky. Nevertheless, my steps were hard upon every stride.

"This is where we will have our first battle lesson," Cloudfang announced as we stopped at a spread of moorland, "it's flat, so it would be comfortable for newer techniques."

That made sense. I tried to suppress my anger into a muted ball, but I was seething the time Larkpaw had come up to brush her pelt near mine. If she sought to make herself appear like a role model, it was working.

Cherrywing beamed at us seeming to get along - really the opposite, I _loathe_ that she-demon - and Cherrywing appeared to stop speaking. "Does everyone understand?" she asked, sweeping her gaze around us. "Okay, good!"

"Sheathe your claws, dear. We wouldn't want anyone to get hurt now, do you?" Larkpaw muttered in my ear. I could practically hear the smile in her silken voice.

I kept my claws unsheathed, digging into the windswept soil underneath.

Cloudfang called out, "Make sure to sheathe your claws! You will never use claws in beginning practice battles."

Grudgingly, my claws retreated, my muscles tense.

"To be a good warrior, you must have balance," Larkpaw started, turning to face me and not a single trace of malice outside. "You wouldn't want to use the fighting crouch too much, you'll be too slow..."

I listened while she lectured. I hated how _incorrect_ she was, how _important_ she was to the Clan, and what an _-_

I yelped as a sharp pain shot into my ribs and I looked at Larkpaw incredulously. "You'll also have to pay attention, Dawn, don't look at me like that. Didn't I tell you you that agility are the most important elements in battle?"

Before I could spit out a hot retort (at this point I didn't care if our mentors listened or not), another jab poked into my chest, right where the thorn wounds have been healed. This time, though, I felt the sharp bite of claws scraping against my skin.

I jumped backwards in shock and finally snarled. "She - you - scratched me!"

Cloudfang stepped forward. _Good_ , I thought, he'll sort things out -

"Oh, it's nothing, it must have been the force of her blow! Well delivered, Larkpaw, and I guess we'll work on agility tomorrow, huh, Dawnpaw?"

WHAT? There was a sudden burning of tears and I blinked rapidly to clear them away. Of course they didn't see, perfect Larkpaw, flashed her claws at the very moment they hit me, they could have never seen. How would they believe the new apprentice arguing against the popular, older one? Her claws didn't even leave a mark behind to prove it.

"Now, now," Cherrywing meowed gently - she startled a little, of course, she saw my tears - and continued, "let's take a little break now, we can always use one, right?"

Her and Larkpaw's pawsteps faded into silence, and I felt Cloudfang's presence. "Are you alright?" he said, and I sniffed loudly.

"It's nothing. I think you're right. I think it's just all the new things that are going around." I waved my tail aimlessly and gave a laugh that sounded much too cynical for my taste.

"Well, we can start training once you're up to it, alright? Do you need help going back to help?" he asked kindly. When I shook my head he left, and I started to head back.

 _It wasn't too difficult to tell the truth,_ a voice said darkly inside me.


	3. Fallen Bird

**I'm probably going to rewrite everything one day because I'm reading over this and cringing at myself. Ughh. (':**

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Alone in the forest, I started to check over myself. I was so _sure_ I felt the hard points of claws, and how could it have not left a mark behind? Tears threatened to spill over again in frustration and I cursed myself for my poor ability to hide my upset.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Dawnkit," cooed a voice and Larkpaw wound her way into the little clearing I was in.

I hissed. "Go away," I snapped.

Larkpaw hummed and watched as a small songbird came fluttering out of the bushes. To my immense shock Larkpaw became a blur, leaping up to pin the bird down to the ground in one solid movement. The bird lay struggling in the same claws that almost hurt me earlier while Larkpaw only tutted. "The weak ones die," she said simply, dragging a sharp claw up and down the creature while it chirped and cried in her grasp.

"Stop it!" I shrieked, mortified.

Larkpaw raised a paw lazily, one of her claws glinting dully with the red of blood. "It's going to die eventually. Might as well do it now," she said, and batted it in my face. When it fell to the ground, it was dead.

"There. Bring it to the camp, it'll show you're not completely useless." She turned on her heels and padded away into the trees like Cloudfang had done moments before while I stared into the bird's dead eyes.

When I buried the bird under the leaves and went to catch more prey, they all ended up running away, and I screamed, wishing they were all dead.

* * *

 _Larkpaw has powers._

* * *

"Who spit in my nest?!"

I cringed in the new nest I had made. _How? How in StarClan does she know?_

Larkpaw's green eyes were laced with murder as she started to demand answers out of the other apprentices though she probably knew it was me; it was all for show.

"N-no, I didn't do it," said Beetlepaw, ears turned back but his lips turned up in a nervous grin.

"Why in the Clans would I do something like that to you?" Blossompaw asked, but the falseness in her sincerity nearly made me gag.

Heatherpaw looked like a second Larkpaw, mutinous as she looked at the perpetrator.

It left only me.

"It was you, wasn't it, slinky Dawnkit?" Larkpaw towered over me, her lips curled upward but her eyes still carrying that eerie glare.

I didn't want to shrink back, but I did, feeling the brush of bracken under my belly. "So what? I'm sure Beetlepaw over there can make you a new one," I sneered, but I was shivering; since when did I become so _weak_?

The first blow made me grunt.

"You think you can make yourself better than me?" Larkpaw spat, but I felt the note of hysterical pleasure in her voice. "Because you'll never, ever be better than me. What are you? I am the best, and I will always stay on top!"

Beetlepaw was watching with his beady eyes. Blossompaw snorted and pretended to look away. Heatherpaw looked satisfied and lapped at her pelt once more in long licks.

Somehow, this hurt more than the beating. Did they not care that she was doing all of this?

"Look at me when I'm speaking to you, Dawnkit!" This time I felt claws against my skin and I gasped, instinctively batting out with one of my paws. Damn, damn; why couldn't I have learned more combat?

Larkpaw pinned me down against my own nest so I couldn't retaliate, a paw shoved over my mouth as she traced a scratch down my belly like the bird I saw before. My screams and swearing were muffled by her paws as I struggled against her form, but she was too solid, too heavy -

And then the weight was gone.

"Have you learned your lesson?" murmured Larkpaw, and grinning, she raised the paw to lick over the blood covering it. I grimaced in revulsion, and nausea bubbled in my stomach.

I've never lost more blood in my life, and it was like a waterfall of blood was trickling slowly on the ground; steady, but always moving. It brought a metallic tang to my nose that only fueled my disgust. "Do you think they won't know?" I gasped. "What would the Clanmates see the next day? These won't heal in one night! They'll know it's you, or anyone else in this den, it smells like blood in here, and they'll figure out!"

Larkpaw made another awful humming noise again. "I knew you would say that," she said, and flicked her head upward.

When she flicked her head up it was the strangest thing; blood started to curl back into my body as if it was a water spring in reverse, dark liquid seeping back from where it once came. Scratches knitted quickly and meticulously before my eyes as if little kits' paws were sewing them back together. Bruises felt like they lifted from my skin, leaving no pain behind. I gaped as I stared back into Larkpaw's face.

"Now they won't have to know," she simpered, snatching up part of the nest I had made and replacing the soiled part of her nest with that.

 _Please, I want her to die, something painful, something horrible, but I never want to see her face again._ I repeated those words, any variation of them in my mind as if I'd need them to survive. I sobbed the rest of the night.


End file.
